


dark shines

by thetealord



Series: doe eyes and lies [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Canon Compliant, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:52:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9278747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thetealord/pseuds/thetealord
Summary: It was all coming to the end.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This falls in 'doe eyes and lies' between chapters 5 and 6.
> 
> title from [muse's "dark shines"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_iaY1T2YhI)

Cor sat on the front steps of their home in Caem. The sun was already setting, two hours earlier than it had the previous night. News of what happened in Altissia had spread. Monica was the first to hear of it, over the radio. Luna, missing, pulled under the waves, presumably dead. Noctis, alive, heading for Gralea.

None of it boded well, but had it ever?

Ardyn had been right about the Niffs, too. They’d all withdrawn, leaving the continent of Lucis to the quickly approaching darkness and the daemons in the night. And Cor knew, they had to get everyone out of Insomnia. Get them all out of the other cities, too. Take everyone to Lestallum, the only place that was sure not to lose its light.

He looked up at the sound of footsteps on wood. Iris trotted down the steps to sit next to him, folding her hands underneath her thighs. “Monica says to ‘come inside and stop sulking,’” she said, likely delivering her exact words. Monica worried about him, almost too much, and she only sent Iris to tell him things like that when she was really irritated. Cor sighed.

“Tell her I’ll come in when I’m ready.”

“She said you would say that,” Iris said, smiling a little. “She said you’re pining.”

Cor rubbed at his nose. “What’s that supposed to mean.”

“Well,” she said, trying her best to be direct while also being polite and respectful because, fallen city and wayward King or not, he was still the Marshal, and it was hard to break long-standing habits. “She pointed out you keep making the face my dad used to after he and father got into a big argument.” She was referring, of course, to King Regis and Clarus, and Cor frowned at her.

“Am I?” he asked. She nodded, and he sighed. “Nevermind that.” Cor didn’t even want to think about the implications there. But, at the least, he knew Monica would think he was pining for Regis still, and that was fine.

Putting it out of his mind as quickly as he could, he waved one hand and sat up straighter. “There was something else I wanted to speak to you about, Iris. I know you know how to fight, but you know as well as I do that we’re losing daylight fast. And when the endless night comes…” It wasn’t a question of whether or not it would anymore. He knew it was coming. He knew Ardyn had something to do with it, and Noctis, and he knew it was not going to be pretty. “I want you to be prepared,” he finished. “And if something happens to me…”

She shook her head suddenly, frowning, and in her eyes he could see that she wanted to believe that nothing would ever happen to him. He was the Immortal, and she trusted him to protect them all, if the time came. But she was old enough and had seen enough to know, too, that anything could happen.

“I want you to train you as my apprentice,” he finished, and she looked at him, eyes wide, then down at her lap.

“What? But I… I can’t, Marshal, I’m not… I’m not strong like my brother, and…”

He clapped one hand gently on her shoulder. “You are,” he said. “You are strong, Iris. And I’ll teach you. I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think you were able.”

She sighed and drew up her knees, looking startled and unsure. “Can I think about it?” she asked. He nodded. “But, just one thing,” she said, clearly heavily contemplating the idea. “…Would you… teach me to use a sword. You know, like you and Gladdy?”

“If you’d like.” He smiled a little. “Actually… there’s still a little time before night, if you wanted me to show you some things right now. To help you decide.”

Her eyes widened and she smiled again. “Yeah, that’d be… really, really cool!”

Iris really was something. Young and kind and full of excitement. A little like he had been, at least on the inside, at that age. Easy to teach, eager to prove himself, to show his skill and protect Regis on his journey.

He reached out with magic to draw his sword from the air, like he always did. But something was… wrong. Normally, there was a presence, and all he had to give was a mere thought before the sword would fall into his hand. Instead, he felt… nothing.

Cor stood, abruptly, staring at his open palm.

“Marshal?” Iris asked, rising carefully with him. “What is it? Something’s wrong?”

Cor turned to look out across the open water, in Gralea’s direction, and narrowed his eyes. The sun was setting fast, the night coming on all too quick. Maybe they didn’t have as much daylight left as he’d thought.

“Go back inside,” he said, too quickly. “Tell Monica I’ll be there soon.”

This time, she didn’t question it, but she watched him warily as she opened the door and slipped back into the house.

Cor wandered out to the cliffside, in the dying light. Any day now, the sun would set and the next morning, it would not rise. The wind played with his short hair. The waves were large, crashing up against the rocks. Birds flew overhead, disoriented and alarmed by the sudden changes.

He could almost see Ardyn’s smile, teasing. His toothy grin, the one he used when he lied, and he thought back again to his words and narrowed his eyes. Something was going on out there, across the sea. Noctis was in danger, there was no other reason for the magic to stop working. But somehow, Cor didn’t think he was dead. At the least, he wanted believe his King was still alive, still fighting. For all of them.

It was all coming to the end.

He couldn’t think about Ardyn anymore. Their time was over. He had other matters to attend to, now. Taking care of the people of Lucis. And he had a duty, to Monica and Dustin, to Talcott and Iris, to stay with them.

No more wayward Marshal.

He had work to do.


End file.
